Okehampton ladies’ thirds 1

Penzance ladies’ seconds 4

THIS was a game of two very different halves. The strong, experienced Penzance hockey team initially took Okehampton by surprise with their hard, direct hitting and their commitment to score.

Okehampton were forced onto the back foot, frantically defending with Penzance surging forward and scoring from a penalty corner.

Joey Drake at centre back for Oke made several crucial tackles but Penzance added to their score from another penalty corner. Oke’s young keeper Daisy Morgan had an outstanding game earning herself Oke’s player of the match, making a number of decisive saves to keep her team in touch with the visitors.

Oke were unlucky to concede two more well taken goals before half time leaving themselves a lot of work to do to catch the visitors’ score.

A productive half time chat and a change of positions gave Oke the boost they needed. The younger members of the team played with renewed confidence realising they could beat the sturdy Penzance defenders. Left back Anna Luxton pushed up the field making several direct passes to Zoe Curtis which enabled her to penetrate the Penzance circle.

Ellie Shayler on the right had some storming runs up the wing but it was Sophie Tripp who put Oke on the score sheet with a bullet like shot from a penalty corner.

Okehampton piled on the pressure desperate to narrow the gap between the two sides but strong tackling and resolute goalkeeping from Penzance denied the home team any more goals.